COTFS - Scion

Black Sand

Category:

poison

Description:

Black Sand takes for form of a coarse black powder, with grains a little less than half the size of rice. One of the most insidious things is how it can be ingested. It can be taken orally, or inhaled like cocaine. It can also be mixed with water into a liquid, and injected into the body directly. In its normal form, black sand does nothing on contact with the skin other than create a slight tingling numbness, but some apothecaries have made an ointment of it that can be applied to the skin, resulting in a dull, pleasant sensation.

When consumed by a Mortal, they get a reflexive (Stamina+Fortitude) roll against Toxicity 5, which determines how many hours they are under the effects. (Basically, they need to reduce the Toxicity to 0 to come out from under it, and get a roll every hour). Black Sand is a powerful narcotic and hallucinogen, blurring the lines between fiction and reality. In addition to causing random stimuli, it also reveals things, and those under the effects can perceive any person or creature that has a legend score, and are considered to have a Legend of 1 themselves for the duration. As such, while they are under its effect, a mortal will heal 1B damage every three hours, and has a Lethal Soak equal to Half their Bashing Soak. A mortal can consume (Stamina) doses in a month before becoming addicted.

Once addicted, the effects of Black Sand change. Firstly, the mortal becomes even more erratic, as the influence of Chaos on them grows stronger. Their hallucinations become even more intense, and they will always act on them if they were real. They, also, however, can now sense the aura of Legend around supernatural creatures, and may know both their Legend Score and remaining Points of Legend, and they gain the Knack “Scent The Divine”, allowing them to smell Scions at range. They also soak Lethal damage with their full Stamina while under the effects. Additionally, the Mortal gains access to dots of boons equal to their legend score, but only while under the effects of Black Sand, from the Chaos, Illusion, Moon, Stars, Mystery or Prophecy purview (GM discretion). The drawback is that the addicted mortal gains an additional thirst, that for divine Ichor. Being close to Ichor, such as that flowing in the bodies of Scions or Avatars of Gods will drive them into a cannabalistic frenzy that is only sated when the target remains dead. If an addicted mortal mixes a dose of Black Sand with Ichor, then consumes it, their effective Legend, while affected by the Black Sand, goes up by 1.

If a Scion consumes a dose of Black Sand, they roll (Stamina+Fortitude) as normal, but the effect’s duration is measured in minutes not hours, with a minimum of activation for one scene. They also suffer no hallucinations, or regular narcotic effects, though they will always feel a kind of tension or hyperawareness, as if they were dosed on adrenaline. This means that while under its effects, they may treat any dice given from Awareness as Additional Successes. Also, like a Mortal, they can sense any person or creature with a Legend Score, and know what that is, instinctively. While under the effects of Black Sand, the Scion is considered to have a Birthright Relic associated with Chaos, Illusion, Moon, Stars, Mystery or Prophecy purviews, and gains dots of boons in those areas randomly, equal to their legend. If the boon has a lasting effect, it immediately ends once the effects of Black Sand wear off. Furthermore, a Scion dosed with Black Sand is enhanced, and thus when spending points of Legend to activate Boons or Knacks, they do not immediately spend the point, at the cost of immediately becoming fatebound to any mortals NOT possessing a Legend Score that can see them. The points are only spend after the Black Sand wears off. If a Scion spends more Legend Points than they have, they are considered to have spend Willpower. If they cannot spend any more willpower, a Scion is rendered unconsious for days equal to the amount of time spent under the effects of Black Sand, at which point they awaken with 1 Willpower. However, the Black Sand is also a trap, and all Titanspawn or Mortals currently under the effect of Black Sand will be able to sense the Scion, no matter what measures are taken, at a range of 5 Yards per dot of Legend the Scion possesses. A Scion becomes addicted to Black Sand if they take (Stamina) [Include dots of epic stamina] doses in 30-(Stamina) days.

Once a Scion is addicted to Black Sand, they immediately replace their Virtue with the Lowest score with one of the Dark Virtues, which is rated at Value equal to the lost virtue, and cannot exceed their highest virtue. A Scion may add the dice in their Dark Virtue to any roll for free, if they act in accordance with that virtue, but this immediately increases its rating by one. If a Scion is tainted like this, their presence is sensed by any Titanspawn or Mortals effected by Black Sand within Legendx5 Yards, even if they are not currently under the effects of Black Sand. Also while addicted, a Scion may replenish any lost points of Legend by mixing Ichor with the Black Sand and consuming it, though it cannot be their own. A Scion may break free from addiction (Which restores their Virtues) if they do not consume any Black Sand for 6-Fortitude months.

The ointment form of Black Sand, while still having its addictive properties, does not relay the full benefits of Black Sand on those who apply it. Instead, it only grants them the Temporary Legend, Soak and natural Healing it would if consumed normally. It does, however, automatically heal levels of health equal to the users Legend when applied.